S. aggregatum[2] S. limacinum[3] S. minutum[2] Schizochytrium is a genus of unicellular eukaryote in the family Thraustochytriaceae, which are found in coastal marine habitats.

Certain species produce large amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)[4] and are grown commercially for production of algae oil for animal feeds, biomass, biofuels and direct human consumption in supplements and additives.

[5] In 2016, juvenile Nile tilapia were given a feed containing dried Schizochytrium in place of fish oil.

[8][9] DHA synthesis in Schizochytrium does not involve membrane-bound desaturases or fatty acid elongation enzymes such as those described for other eukaryotes.

[10][11] Instead it is thought that DHA synthesis in Schizochytrium occurs via a Polyketide synthase (PKS)-based pathway, although the primary structures of the Polyketide synthases do not conform to any known class of PKS proteins.